XVIII. ALISMACE.E. 



801 



Damasonivm californicum. 

 Flower. 



Sagittaria sagittcefolia. Inflorescence. 



Damasonium stellatum. 



basilar and erect, tlie others horizontal. Ripe CARPELS indehiscent, or dehiscent by 

 their ventral suture. SEEDS recurved, exalbuminous ; testa membranous. EMBRYO 

 hooked, sub-cylindric ; radicle inferior or centripetal. 



'Alisma. 



PKINCIPAL GENEEA. 

 * Sagittaria. 



Damasonium. 



Alismacea have by a great many botanists been united with Juncaginece, which only differ in their 

 always extrorse anthers, anatropous ovules, and straight embryo ; Alismacea are also connected on 

 the other hand with Butomice, which are separated by their placentation and the number of their ovules. 



They are found, though not abundantly, in the temperate and tropical regions of both worlds. 

 Alisma grows in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere and the tropics of the New World. 

 Sagittaria inhabits the same countries, but is rarer in the tropics. Damasonium inhabits certain parts of 

 Europe, North Africa, North-west United States, and East Australia. 



Most Alismacece possess an acrid juice, which led formerly to their use in medicine. The Water 

 Plantain (Alisma Plantago) and Sagittaria sagittafolia have been prescribed, but without good reason, 

 for hydrophobia ; the feculent rhizomes of the latter lose their acridity by desiccation, and serve as food to 

 the Tartar Kalmucks ; the same is the case with S. sitiensis, cultivated in China, and S. obtutifolia, 

 of North America. 



3p 



